Rubbish-diverter for flume-gates.



N. 726,564. PATENTED APR. 28, 1903.

. J. I. PBIRCE. RUBBISH DIVERTER POR PLUME GATES.

APPLIOATION FILED O0T.18, 1902. N0 MODEL.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JONATHAN F. PEIROE, OF MILVAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

RU BBISH-DIVE-RTER FOR FLUlVlE-GATES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 726,564, dated April 28, 1903. Application led October 18, 1902. Serial No. 127,789. (No model.)

To all 1071/0771/ t may concer-71.:

Be it known that I, JONATHAN F. PEIECE,

residing at Milwaukee, in the county of Mil-` waukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Rubbish- Diverters for Fiume-Gates, of which the followingis a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which are a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in rubbish-diverters for flume-gates.

In certain localities where irrigating-umes are utilized and gated ports lead from the umes to branches or to land to be irrigated much trouble is experienced on account of the quantities of rubbish and leaves carried by the water, the ports and gates become clogged, and unless carefully watched the proper amount of water will not reach the desired destinations. Numerous means have been devised for the object ol' overcoming this difculty, but all of them, so far as Iam aware, are open to objections more or less serious.

The object of this invention is to produce a simple and cheap rubbish-diverter for these ports and gates which will be efficient and free from the objections common to those devices heretofore utilized, one which will divert the rubbish from the gate without materially retarding the speed of the iiow of the.

water through the flume or diverting the water from the gate. This and other objects I attain by means of a diverter constructed and utilized as described in the speciiication, and illustrated in the drawings presented herewith.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional ele- 'vation of a portion of a rectangular flume adjacent to one of its gates, and this view illustrates this invention as applied to said gate, the 110W of water through the ume being in the direction of the arrow in said figure. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the fiume, showing the diverter in section taken on line 2 2 in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the iiume with the diverter in place and is taken on line 3 3 in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a plan view of a modified form of this device, and Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of this modified form applied to a rectangular Hume.

the flume or to an irrigating ditch, or a field or orchard, as the case may be, to be irrigated, and as many ports as are desired may lead from one flume. Secured to the interior of wall 7 and extending vertically of said wallA are two gate-guideways 10, and these gnideways are preferably struck up out of a plate 1l of sheet metal and bent over toward one another to form the guideways. The plate ll is provided with an opening adapted to register with the opening 9 in the wall of the ume, and a sheet-metal gate l2, having its top bent at an angle to its body to form a handle, fits within the guideways and is adapted to be moved up and down therein to open and close the port 9, as is desired.

In order to hold the gate 12 in the desired adjusted positions within its ways, the irregularities of the gate itself-that is, the spring of the metal and the irregularities in the guideways-will be relied on to produce the proper amount of friction.

The rubbish-diverter 12 consists olf a foursided piece of meshed fabric, such as wire screen, having two of its edges 13 and 14 diverging one from the other and one located above and one below the top. and bottom, respectively, of the port 9. The forward edge 15, which is that edge or end above the gate, is secured to the wall 7 by means of tacks or staples or in any other suitable manner, and the body of the` diverter between the edges 13 and 14: is curved out intothe flume from one of said edges to the other, as shown in Fig. 3, thus providing an opening or open end for the diverter. The edges 13 and 11.1L may be secured to the wall of the fiume by means of staples or tacks or in any other suitable manner, and, if desired, the edge 14 may be left free, for on account of the nature of the IOC meshed fabric this edge will tend to hug the wall of the flu me. From this construction it will be seen that water moving through the flume in the direction of the arrow will pass through the diverter and, if the gate is open, through the gate to the destination desired. -Anyleaves or rubbish carried by said water will be diverted from the gate and allowed to pass on through the flu me past said gate. The diverter being open at its lower end will not substantially retard the speed of the iiow of the water through the iiume or through it.

It will be seen that with the use of these diver-ters the large screens which are 110W utilized for collecting rubbish or straining the water before it enters the fiume may be done away with, and these screens are the cause of-.much trouble and are open to serious objections. Vhen these screened strainers are utilized, they often become clogged with rubbish and leaves and form a sort of dam, preventing the properamount of water from iiowing through the flume. They cannot take the place of the diverters, because they have no effect on the rubbish and leaves which fall into the Hume below them.

It will be seen that with my diverter if some rubbish or leaves should collect on it, and this is practically impossible on account of its slightI inclination toward the axis of the stream, the port would receive practically the full force of the water on account of the large straining and diverting surface which is presented.

This diverter on account of its construction and on account of being reticulated throughout its entire length does not allow any air to be trapped behind it between it and the wall 7 of the flume nor does it interfere with the pressure of the water at the gate.

It will be understood that the gate 1l of the port and its guideways may be located, if desired, on the outside of wall 7.

In Figs. 4: and 5 a modified form of this diverter is illustrated, and in this form it consists of a sheet of suitably stiff, meshed, or reticulated material, having its forward end l5 secured to the wall of the flume above the gate and its lower end 16 extending out into the flu me and below the gate. When this form is used, the bottom 17 of the meshed fabric will be secured to the iioor of the flume and the top of the fabric will extend to the top of the flu me or above the water-line. The curved form of diverter as shown in Figs. l, 2, and 3 is preferable to the form shown in Figs. 4 and 5, because it presents asurface on which leaves and rubbish are lless apt to collect than on a straight surface. It presents more meshed fabric to the water, but in such a form as to retard the flow of the water less than the straight form. The straight form, however, may be utilized with very good results..

What I claim as my invention isl. The combination with a ume, of a port leading therefrom, and a rubbish-diverter for said port constructed of meshed fabric, having two diverging flume-wall-contacting edges and from one of said edges to the other being bent into a curved form.

2. The combination with a flume, of a port leading therefrom, and a rubbish-diverter for said port constructed of meshed or reticulated fabric with two diverging liu ine-wall-contacting edges.

3. The combination with a flume, of a port leading therefrom, and a rubbish-diverter for said port cut from meshed or reticulated fabric and having two diverging flnme-wall-contacting edges.

4. The combination with a flume, of a port leading from the side thereof, a gate for said port, and a rubbish-diverter for saidvgate eX- tending into the flume at an angle to the line of travel of the water therethrou gh and formed of meshed fabric.

5. The combination with a flume, of aport leading from the side thereof, a gate for said port, and a rubbish -diverter for said gate formed of meshed fabric and extending into said ume; said diverter having its lower end open and extending from a distance above said gate to a distance below the same.

6. The combination with a iiume, of a port leading therefrom, a gate for said port, and a rubbish-diverter for said gate; said rubbishdiverter being formed of meshed fabric and being of concave-convex form in cross-section and extending from a distance above said gate to a distance below the same and having its forward end secured to the wall of the fiume and its lower end open.

7. In combination with the wall of a fiume, a gated port leading therefrom, and a rubbish-diverter for said port; said diverter being formed of meshed fabric and curved outward from its top toits bottom edge throughout the major portion of its length, and secured to the flume-wall so that its end above the gate is flattened whereby it hugs the wall, and so that its end below said gate, aside from the top and bottom edges, stands out from the wall whereby the diverter is provided with an open lower end.

8. The combination with a fiume, of a port leading therefrom, and a rubbish-diverter for said port extending into the flume at an angle to the line of travel of the water therethrough and formed ofmeshed fabric.

9. The combination with a Hume, of a port leading therefrom, and a rubbish-diverter for said port, formed of meshed fabric and extending into said flume; said diverter having its lower end open and extending from a distance above said port toa distance below the same.

10. The combination with a flume, of a port leading therefrom, and a rubbish-diverter for said port; said diverter being formed of meshed fabric and being of concave-convex form in cross-section, and extending from a distance above said port to a distance below IIO the same and having its forward end secured and so that its end below said port, aside to the wall of the flume and its lower end from the top and bottom edges, stands out open. from the wall whereby the diverter is proll. In combination with the wall of a flume, vided with an open lower end. I5

a port leading therefrom, and a rubbish-di- In testimony whereof I afx my signature verter for said port; said diverter being in presence of two witnesses.

formed of meshed fabric and curved outward from its top to its bottom edge throughout JONATHAN F' PEIRCE' the major portion of its length, and secured Witnesses: lo to the fiume-wall so that its end above the ANNA V.l FAUST,

port is flattened whereby it hugs the wall, ALMA KLUG. 

